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A recent legal petition from twelve health advocacy and farm worker groups is urging the EPA to discontinue permitting the spraying of antimicrobial agents on edible plants across the US, highlighting superbug development and illnesses to agricultural workers.

Farming Industry Uses Millions of Pounds of Antibiotic Crop Treatments

The crop production sprays approximately 8m lbs of antibiotic and antifungal chemicals on US produce annually, with several of these agents banned in foreign countries.

“Every year US citizens are at increased danger from dangerous bacteria and illnesses because pharmaceutical drugs are used on plants,” stated a public health advocate.

Superbug Threat Creates Significant Public Health Threats

The excessive use of antibiotics, which are vital for combating infections, as crop treatments on produce jeopardizes community well-being because it can result in drug-resistant microbes. Likewise, frequent use of antifungal agent treatments can lead to fungal infections that are more resistant with present-day medicines.

• Drug-resistant infections affect about 2.8m individuals and result in about thousands of mortalities annually.
• Regulatory bodies have connected “therapeutically critical antimicrobials” approved for crop application to antibiotic resistance, increased risk of staph infections and increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Environmental and Public Health Consequences

Meanwhile, consuming antibiotic residues on crops can disrupt the human gut microbiome and increase the likelihood of persistent conditions. These agents also pollute water sources, and are thought to damage insects. Frequently low-income and minority farm workers are most exposed.

Frequently Used Antibiotic Pesticides and Agricultural Practices

Growers apply antimicrobials because they kill microbes that can ruin or kill produce. Among the popular antimicrobial treatments is a common antibiotic, which is commonly used in healthcare. Estimates indicate as much as significant quantities have been applied on American produce in a single year.

Citrus Industry Lobbying and Government Action

The formal request coincides with the Environmental Protection Agency faces demands to widen the application of pharmaceutical drugs. The citrus plant illness, spread by the vector, is severely affecting orange groves in the state of Florida.

“I appreciate their urgent need because they’re in dire straits, but from a broader perspective this is absolutely a obvious choice – it cannot happen,” the advocate commented. “The key point is the significant problems generated by spraying pharmaceuticals on edible plants far outweigh the crop issues.”

Other Solutions and Long-term Outlook

Advocates suggest straightforward agricultural measures that should be tested first, such as increasing plant spacing, cultivating more hardy varieties of crops and locating diseased trees and quickly removing them to prevent the infections from spreading.

The formal request provides the EPA about five years to act. Previously, the regulator outlawed chloropyrifos in answer to a similar regulatory appeal, but a legal authority overturned the agency's prohibition.

The agency can implement a prohibition, or must give a reason why it refuses to. If the regulator, or a future administration, declines to take action, then the groups can take legal action. The procedure could take many years.

“We are engaged in the long game,” Donley stated.